Apple's secretive industrial design lab shown off in redesigned jobs site

Jony Ive's design team has begun to emerge from the shadows, with some of Apple's elite cadre of designers featured on the company's revamped jobs microsite — in a photo apparently taken within its top-secret industrial design lab.

The shot depicts four workers gathered around the edge of a large, Apple-store like wooden table discussing the clasp for an Apple Watch sport band. On the table are two long, thin boxes that appear to be prototypes of packaging for an Apple Watch or its replacement bands.

Behind the group stands a glass wall, which divides the workspace from a set of computerized milling machines.

This setup matches precisely with previous reports that describe the layout of Apple's industrial design lab, a space normally off-limits to all but those who work directly with Ive. At least two of the people in the photo also appear in a group picture taken of the industrial design team last September, following the unveiling of the Apple Watch.

The snapshot provides a rare glimpse inside Apple's holy of holies, a place that is rarely photographed or even visited. It last appeared on film in 2009, when Ive agreed to participate in industrial design documentary Objectified, but that scene took place entirely within a prototyping workshop.

Apple updated its jobs site earlier this week, bringing it in line with the new style of Apple.com.