[jeromie]

As the interviewee, you can pretty much ask anything you want. You may also talk yourself out of the job in the process.

I haven't seen companies offer to pay off loans before (there's no geography here, YMMV), but hiring bonuses and equity compensation are pretty standard depending on your seniority and skillset. (e.g. We'll give you $X in restricted stock over 4 years, with 25% coming at the end of year 1 and then in quarterly drops.)

At the end of the day, you're a budget line-item for the company and they care about what you cost, not what you spend the money on.